Card edge connector with floating pad

Abstract

A card edge connector includes an elongated housing defining a mating cavity extending along a longitudinal direction and a pair of arms disposed at opposite ends of the mating cavity and a supporting portion unitarily extending forward from the housing. A plurality of contacts are divided into an upper row and a lower row and respectively secured on opposite sides of the mating cavity. Metallic devices comprise a pair of retaining members respectively attached to the arms and a pair of soldering pads respectively assembled onto the supporting portions along a front-to-rear direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. Each supporting portion defines a receiving slot running through a front face of the supporting portion and extending along the front-to-rear direction for receiving said soldering pad under condition that the soldering pad could floatably move within the receiving slot.

1. A card edge connector for connecting an electrical card to a printed circuit board comprising:
 an elongated housing defining a mating cavity extending along a longitudinal direction and a pair of arms disposed at opposite ends of the mating cavity, a supporting portion unitarily extending forward from the housing; 
 a plurality of contacts, divided into an upper row and a lower row, and respectively secured on opposite sides of the mating cavity; and 
 metallic devices, comprising a pair of retaining members respectively attached to the arms and a pair of soldering pads respectively assembled onto the supporting portions along a front-to-rear direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction; 
 wherein each supporting portion defines a receiving slot running through a front face of the supporting portion and extending along the front-to-rear direction for receiving said soldering pad under condition that the soldering pad could floatably move within the receiving slot. 
 
     
     
       2. The card edge connector as described in  claim 1 , wherein the retaining members are located at a higher level than the soldering pads in a vertical direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. 
     
     
       3. The card edge connector as described in  claim 2 , wherein each arm comprises a second side arm and a first side arm located at a lateral side of the second side arm, the retaining members are attached to the second side arms while the soldering pads are located under the first side arms. 
     
     
       4. The card edge connector as described in  claim 3 , wherein an interval is defined between the second side arm and the supporting portion for receiving a buckling portion extending laterally from a bottom edge of each retaining member. 
     
     
       5. The card edge connector as described in  claim 1 , wherein said receiving slot comprises a vertical front slot, a vertical rear slot and a ring like connecting slot located therebetween, the soldering pad has a pair of fork shaped locking portions inserted into said vertical rear slot through the connecting slot. 
     
     
       6. The card edge connector as described in  claim 5 , wherein each soldering pad has a body portion, a solder portion extending from a bottom edge of the body portion, and said locking portions extending from a lateral edge which is connected with said bottom edge. 
     
     
       7. The card edge connector as described in  claim 6 , wherein said locking portions and the body portion are formed in a same plane. 
     
     
       8. The card edge connector as described in  claim 7 , wherein a front bottom surface of the supporting portion is cut so as to receive said solder portion of the soldering pad. 
     
     
       9. The card edge connector as described in  claim 8 , wherein the vertical rear slot runs through the bottom surface of the supporting portion. 
     
     
       10. The card edge connector as described in  claim 9 , wherein an opening is defined on the solder portion of each soldering pad. 
     
     
       11. A card edge connector comprising:
 an insulative housing defining an elongated base with a pair of arms at two opposite ends in a longitudinal direction, each of said arms extending in a front-to-back direction perpendicular to said longitudinal direction, and defining a lower supporting portion and an upper latching portion, a receiving slot formed in the supporting portion, a soldering pad assembled into the receiving slot, the latching portion defining an inner deflectable arm and an outer rigid arm with therebetween a gap in said longitudinal direction; wherein 
 the supporting portion is essentially aligned with the outer rigid arm, and the receiving slot communicates with an exterior in said front-to-back direction and a vertical direction perpendicular to both said front-to-back direction and said longitudinal direction with a stepped structure therein, and the solder pad defines a planar body portion lying in a vertical plane with a hook in a front end to be hooked to the stepped structure, and a solder portion linked at a bottom edge of the body portion and extending in a horizontal plane under condition that said soldering pad is floatably received in the receiving slot. 
 
     
     
       12. The card edge connector as claimed in  claim 11 , wherein the body portion is dimensioned smaller than the supporting portion in said front-to-back direction. 
     
     
       13. The card edge connector as claimed in  claim 12 , wherein a gap is formed between the outer rigid arm and the supporting portion in the vertical direction. 
     
     
       14. The card edge connector as claimed in  claim 13 , wherein the gap between the outer rigid arm and the supporting portion is dimensioned similar to the body portion in the front-to-back direction.